An Unexpected Challenge
by Sera's Dragon
Summary: Saiko happens upon a certain black-haired shinobi, one who interests her immensely. Ultimately she decides that she wants to test his skill and see for herself, but the shinobi has his own plans that only increase her interest. Based in Shippuuden after Itachi's death while Taka still has all four members and are members of Akatsuki. Contains OC Rated T for violence (being ninjas)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fanfiction so please be nice. It was sort of just a random idea I had and probably won't be very long. Criticism is welcome but please don't be rude or insulting. I have other non-fanfiction stories I'm writing so updates for this story might be slow and I doubt I will edit/rewrite chapters unless I really feel I should or you really want me to. And to anyone who does, thank you so much for reading.

CHAPTER 1

Saiko abruptly came to a full stop, the wood of the branch beneath her audibly protesting at the force with which she had landed. Her black hair – though tied in a ponytail – flew forward in the wake of her momentum, obscuring piercing grey eyes. Saiko pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and replaced her mask which she had removed earlier. Her arms and legs were still exposed - the jacket had no sleeves and she was wearing shorts, both allowing for greater mobility – but more importantly her identity was safe, not that it was in any particular danger. There were very few that knew of her existence, and from what intel she had gathered, it was a closely guarded secret among the villages. She contemplated this for a moment, wondering why there wasn't a price on her head, but noticing movement below her she returned her attention to the reason for her halt.

She was high in the tree, and the leaves were thick, that added to her adeptness for stealth meant that even the most skilled shinobi wouldn't have a chance of noticing her. Peering down, her sharp eyes picked out the movement of four people. From the way they moved, they had to be shinobi, and skilled ones too. Seiko jumped to a lower branch, landing silently and without disturbing a single leaf. Despite her stealth, the leader of the group below her stopped abruptly. One of them, a blue haired shinobi with a large sword strapped to his back ran into one of the others, a red haired kunoichi who appeared to be a sensory type. Saiko found that the scene that unravelled was rather amusing. It was almost ironic that if anything was going to give her away it would be her inability to control her laughter. The blue-haired shinobi had jumped back in surprise and the kunoichi whipped around and glared. The third member of the group, an orange-haired shinobi was trying desperately to break up the heated argument that had ensued and was failing miserably. The leader of the group, glanced back at them, and it seemed that was enough to silence them. This shinobi interested Saiko, the others were complete idiots, and despite presumably having their own respective strengths, it was clear that their leader was one worthy of respect.

Saiko hadn't exactly been in a hurry before she had stopped, she was simply impatient, hence her speed. At one point a group of stone ninja had tried to tail her, but they met with little success and her lost her trail within seconds of spotting her. She was well outside the land of stone although unsure of exactly where she was, not that it mattered. Saiko had no home, and no place to be, so for the most part she spent her time wandering. Occasionally she would reveal herself, if only in the hopes of finding someone who would be a challenge, a hope that so far had not come to pass. Perhaps that was why this shinobi interested her so much. He seemed strong, in more ways than one. She could see, even from such a distance, the depth of his emotion, his hatred. Although what exactly that hatred was directed at she couldn't be sure. The black-haired shinobi scanned his surroundings, his eyes turning deep scarlet. _Strange_. Saiko wasn't exactly up-to-date with current events, but she was fairly certain that what she saw in his eyes was the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan, the Sharingan, and she was also fairly certain that the Uchiha clan had supposedly been wiped out. Even a formidable ability like the Sharingan failed to notice Saiko's presence - although she'd have to be careful with this one – but the black-haired shinobi still seemed wary.

"What is it Sasuke?" The one who's name Saiko had learned to be Karin.

Sasuke glanced briefly in her direction and she flinched, but after a moment's pause he answered. "We're being followed, stay on guard."

Sasuke as he was apparently known then continued walking, his steps just slightly tenser than before. It was impressive that he could know that at all, even if he couldn't determine her location. This observation only served to interest Saiko more. Just who was this Sasuke? To be aware of her presence, as unsure as he might be of it was beyond just skill, it meant his instincts were downright scary in their accuracy. _Well, two can play at that game._ Saiko grinned menacingly. She was going to follow this little group and see where it took her. She wanted to know if this 'Sasuke' might be the challenge she was looking for. She began her pursuit, flitting silently from tree to tree as the group below her started moving again.

Sasuke's eyes hadn't lost their blood-red hue since they had stopped, and every few minutes he would swivel his head, scanning his surroundings. He was obviously still aware of her presence, but even more obvious was the fact that he had no idea where his pursuer was. A glance upwards told Saiko that it was almost dusk, and as the group picked up speed it was clear that Sasuke wanted to lose her before nightfall. Saiko internally giggled. Sasuke's emotions might be shrouded and confusing, but his intentions were clear as day. He was easy to read, although maybe Saiko was the only one who could really say that. A few more hours passed and still Saiko continued her pursuit. It was already night, the new moon providing no illumination in the already dark forest. Sasuke had switched tactics, rather than relying only on his Sharingan he had begun using every technique he could to determine Saiko's location. It seemed he was beginning to wonder if it wasn't just his imagination, as his guard relaxed and slowly they drew to a halt in a clearing by a river. Sasuke scanned his surroundings once more before turning to his companions who had fallen a little ways behind. Karin put her hands on her knees and stood panting for a moment, and the blue-haired shinobi – Suigetsu – skidded to a stop then exclaimed "Finally!" before walking over to the river and kneeling beside it. The orange haired one, Juugo, was silent, but clearly thankful for the rest.

"Well?" It was directed at Sasuke, but Karin and Suigetsu looked up in expectation. Sasuke didn't answer and scanned the area again before settling on a nearby rock. The other three took this as an indication that they were staying the night and set about collecting food and water. Sasuke remained stationary on the rock. He appeared relaxed but Saiko could tell, every muscle in his body was tense. Stationary now herself, Saiko focused on eliminating anything that might be giving her presence away. Using her unique chakra, she erased her scent and then quickly ceased using any chakra at all. Forcibly slowing her breathing and her heart rate, along with her probably obvious bloodlust, she looked up to see Sasuke relax a little. He was still wary, but seemed to think the danger had passed. Saiko smiled at this. While they were moving, it was fun to watch his uncertain wariness, but if she was going to challenge him, then she wanted him to be as rested as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Ok so I didn't really like the end of this chapter but I'm too tired to rewrite. Hopefully it will get easier as I get into the actual plot instead of just introduction of ideas. To be honest I don't really have a direction, only a vague inkling of where I want to end up so any suggestions would be appreciated. And since i forgot to put it in the first chapter, disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all credit goes to it's respective owners etc. You know what I mean, it's a fanfic after all.

CHAPTER 2

Eventually, she too decided to get some rest. She slept lightly as usual, a habit born from being constantly hunted, so she awoke straight away when there was movement below her vantage point high in the trees. Looking down, she could see that Sasuke was awake, and probably had been for a while. What had woken her had been a rustling in the trees some distance away. Slowly rising, Saiko leapt to a neighbouring tree and continued for about a hundred metres before dropping lightly to the ground. Waiting behind the trunk of one of the surrounding trees she waited, and surely, a few moments later a group of eight shinobi – leaf Anbu by their masks - broke through the canopy. For elite ninjas they really were quite noisy, and they didn't even notice Saiko as they passed overhead. She followed them from the ground, moving like a shadow from tree to tree. She peered out from her cover as the eight Anbu dropped into the clearing in which Sasuke and his group were staying. Climbing into the trees again for a better view, Saiko watched Sasuke carefully. He was deliberately ignoring them, but his hand twitched in the direction of his sword. Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo were still fast asleep, and neither Sasuke nor the Anbu team looked like they were going to bother to wake them up.

Saiko had to admit her burning curiosity. Not only at how Sasuke would handle this, but also at why he felt the need to keep the other three around when they didn't seem to serve any obvious purpose. Karin perhaps, she was a sensory ninja and Sasuke, despite his Sharingan obviously was not, but the other two just seemed like unnecessary baggage. The Anbu team moved to surround Sasuke and he let them, it was a huge mistake on their part. Under normal circumstances surrounding an opponent was often useful, but in this case it just separated them. Sasuke was fast enough to pick all of them off one by one as soon as they tried to coordinate an attack. The one to attack would dead before any others even had a chance to prepare anything and so it would continue until they either retreated or died. Saiko almost laughed at their stupidity. Was this really the best that the leaf village had to offer?

Sasuke drew his sword and the Anbu tensed, readying their own weapons. Nothing was said nothing passed between the two sides, and Sasuke didn't move until the Anbu made their first strike. Two of the eight charged from opposite sides. They were fast, but not nearly fast enough. Sasuke simply sidestepped and cut them both down in a single motion, before turning and impaling another Anbu who had attempted to approach him from behind. Sasuke drew his sword from the corpse and fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Realising their plan had fallen apart and dismayed at how quickly it had transpired, the remaining Anbu danced backwards. They were contemplating retreat, that much was obvious, but Sasuke didn't give them the chance, moving so fast that even Saiko could barely follow, Sasuke reached the first Anbu and cut him down, a similar movement saw three others meet their end. The last remaining Anbu looked terrified, even behind his mask. Sasuke took a step towards him and he let out a strangled cry of barely contained terror. Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu sat bolt-upright, glancing wildly around. Paying them no further heed, Saiko returned her attention to Sasuke. He seemed to be deciding whether or not to kill the remaining ninja. Anbu were the leaf's elite and they answered to the Hokage herself, if Sasuke let him live then it would do wonders for his reputation, on the other hand, the leaf would be aware of his general location.

Sasuke smirked, and the Anbu agent flinched, then turned and ran. Sasuke let him go. Karin looked at him questioningly but seemed to know better than to annoy him right now. Suigetsu on the other hand wasn't nearly as perceptive, in fact he was about as observant as a brick.

"Why'd you let him go Sasuke?"

Sasuke ignored the question completely and returned his sword to its sheath. Saiko followed them for three more days until they finally reached their destination. Abandoning the group for a moment, Saiko wandered to the nearby cliff which overlooked the Hidden Leaf Village. She could tell Sasuke was planning something big, and as obvious as it was he wouldn't do anything for a while, perhaps now was a good time to reveal her presence. She was curious as to why Sasuke would come here, he had no headband meaning he was a rogue ninja, and being from the Uchiha clan he must've originally been from Konoha. That meant this was likely an attack on the village itself. Revenge was the most likely reason, after all, if the entire Uchiha clan had been wiped out, then the leaf village must have had something to do with it. But Sasuke's reasons for being here seemed more personal than that.

Saiko turned away from the cliff, and moved a ways off from where Sasuke's group had stopped. Narrowing her eyes in their general direction, her vision obscured slightly by her mask, she could still hear them. Distinguishing actual words was difficult, but Suigetsu seemed to be complaining about it being too dry, and Karin - who apparently didn't realise her affection for Sasuke disgusted him – was being all lovey-dovey. Juugo was quiet as usual, although she could still distinguish his breathing from the surroundings. She couldn't hear Sasuke at all, although she could still sense his presence. Saiko waited for the others to settle down to sleep, then slowly released a tiny amount of chakra. Activating her own visual abilities, her eyes darkening to a deep hue of red, she could see her chakra clearly as she directed it towards the clearing in which Sasuke still sat, wide awake. Watching his chakra, she saw him tense, and slowly stand, a peculiar hue of chakra coalescing around his eyes, presumably his Sharingan activating. She let her powers fade and stopped the chakra trail, leaving just enough for the Sharingan to follow. Her own visual powers were something she herself had created, and were far from perfect. Because of this rather unfortunate fact, using her eyes in such a manner was very demanding of both her chakra and her stamina. But it didn't matter, she only needed to make sure the chakra reached Sasuke, and now she knew it had, she didn't need them anymore.

She leapt up into a tree and waited, listening intently. Sure enough, a few minutes later Sasuke emerged from the trees. He was wary yes, but he hadn't even drawn his sword yet. But so what if he was a little overconfident? Considering what Saiko had learned over the past few days, he had earned a few liberties in terms of strength. It was still amusing though. Had he been only a little more interested in the chakra itself, he might have noticed that it was rather unusual and been more careful. But Saiko didn't plan to kill him here, only to…introduce herself. Saiko wanted to see how Sasuke would react to someone stronger than him, and whether or not he would recognise that she was. It was true that he was no sensory ninja, and the she was often underestimated, but she was fairly confident that Sasuke would recognise her strength.

Saiko smirked and dropped silently out of her tree, masking everything and anything that might give away her presence and stood about a metre behind Sasuke. He tensed, clearly aware of something, and Saiko almost laughed out loud. Supressing a snigger, she crossed her arms and set herself in a relaxed but wary stance. She was confident in her abilities, but she wasn't about to underestimate Sasuke.

"So, we meet at last Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke froze and turned slowly, deliberately, his hand twitching. He wanted to reach for his sword but knew better. He raised his eyes to look at Saiko, and impressively, they showed no emotion except the cold hatred that was ever present in his Sharingan-red eyes. If he was surprised, he didn't show it, and that only made Saiko respect him all the more, but to her surprise, it also saddened her a little. Why would he need to guard his emotions so fiercely? What could have happened that made him this way? Her own contemplation made Saiko want to laugh again, but she resisted and simply studied Sasuke. He was different up close. The lines of strain etched into his features barely visible but there all the same, and in his eyes, aside from his hatred, were two somewhat contradictory things, both of which Saiko recognised on a personal level - the pressure of being hunted, and the thrill of being the hunter.

"You're the one who's been following us." His voice was flat, emotionless, but his gaze was following every movement, every shift.

"Indeed, my name is Saiko, it's a pleasure to meet you." She couldn't keep the velvet bloodlust out of her tone, she wanted to fight Sasuke, but at the same time she recoiled at the thought of killing him. Whatever it was he strove for, the amount of effort he put in, and the amount of pain he suffered for it…Saiko was _not_ going to waste that, it was the reason he had strength, and the reason she respected him in the first place.

Sasuke made to draw his sword, but thought better of it. He seemed to realise that Saiko had a very good reason for being so relaxed. "Why are you following us?" He demanded.

Saiko laughed. "I'm following _you_ Sasuke, I couldn't care less about your pathetic little friends."

It was his turn to laugh this time, although it was more of an amused grunt and a smirk. "Friends? They aren't my friends, simply…a means to an end."

"So I suspected. But I suppose I didn't answer your question…" Saiko removed her mask and returned it to the pouch strapped to her back around her waist. "You interest me."

"I interest you?"

"Indeed. Your strength is different from anyone else I've met. If anything it's a lot like my own. You're someone who had to learn your skills the hard way, and I would imagine you lived eternally in someone's shadow, am I right?"

"You're good at reading people it seems."

"Not really, it's just that I see in you many of the same things I see in myself."

"So then why did you reveal yourself, and why now?"

"I want to fight you" At that, Sasuke tensed and grasped the hilt of his sword, lowering his stance. Saiko just laughed. "I'm flattered that you think I'm worthy of such caution, but I don't want to fight you here and now. I revealed myself because whatever you're planning for that village…" Saiko tossed her head in the direction of the hidden leaf village "seems like it would be a lot of fun. I haven't been to the leaf village before, I'm curious to see how strong it is, although judging from those Anbu they sent after you, not very."

Sasuke seemed amused, and even relaxed a little. "It's true the village is weak, but there are some among them who might be considered strong."

"You say your comrades are only a means to an end. May I ask, what exactly is that end?"

"You think me stupid enough to divulge my secrets to a stranger?" But his tone was not menacing, it was almost…playful.

"I suppose not. I'll tell you what, if you let me in on whatever it is you have planned for the leaf, I'll lend you my strength in order to achieve your end."

"And yet, you don't realise that those would be one and the same."

Saiko's eyes widened slightly as she watched Sasuke closely.

"So that's it then? I never would've dreamed…" Saiko's almost screeched in excitement, but managed to contain it, she couldn't however stop the evil grin that spread across her features. "You plan to destroy the leaf village! Oh I like you, your ambition is inspiring! Please, I must ask you to let me join you, I haven't had a good massacre in far too long."

Sasuke smirked and watched Saiko as she all but danced for joy. Skilled and twisted, what more could he ask for, loyalty? It seemed to Sasuke that this Saiko would do whatever he said as long as it meant an opportunity to kill someone.

"Alright." Saiko stopped and turned to look at him.

"But?"

"But there's something I have to do first, someone who needs to die."

"Oh?"

"As long as he lives I won't be able to touch the village."

"I get the feeling there is more to this than just how strong this person is. You want him to die first for other reasons don't you?"

"Of course, but those are things you don't need to know. I can promise you that if you stay with me then you will have plenty of opportunities to satisfy your bloodlust."

"Well then, I am at your service." The comment was almost sarcastic, but the meaning was genuine, and Saiko dropped Sasuke a dramatic bow in return for his 'generosity'.

Sasuke watched Saiko a moment longer then turned and indicated she should follow. Saiko of course wasn't going to do everything his way. She slipped back into the trees, but made it clear to Sasuke that she was following before masking her presence.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N So this chapter was kind of short, sorry about that. I've never been good at breaking chapters, but anyway, there wasn't much background in this chapter, more just lead up to stuff, it'll get more exciting I promise.

CHAPTER 3

Saiko watched lazily from a nearby tree as Sasuke returned to his group. So maybe she hadn't learned all that much about his plans, but she had learned quite a bit about his personality. She watched curiously as Sasuke strode over to where his comrades were still sleeping. Saiko giggled when Karin shot bolt upright at the sound of her name.

"Wake the others."

"Where are you going?"

Sasuke ignored her, and with an almost imperceptible nod in Saiko's direction, moved towards the village. When Sasuke reached the wall – the main gates a good 200 metres from where he stood – Saiko dropped out of a tree to land next to him.

"Isn't climbing the wall a bit obvious?"

"From what I've seen I don't think that will be a problem."

"So you're not coming huh?"

"I need you to distract the guards at the gate, but don't kill them, I want us to stay low-profile until I know he's in the village or not."

Saiko smirked, both in distaste and amusement, but nodded at the request. Looking up, Saiko scanned the area beyond the wall for any noise. There was movement, and voices, but all close to the ground, climbing over here would be easy enough.

Saiko sent her chakra to her feet and ran up the side of the wall, stopping just short of the top to peer over before disappearing on the other side. Landing lightly on a nearby roof, Saiko looked around. There wasn't anyone on the rooves, with good enough reason, looking back up at the wall Saiko realised it was actually quite a way to fall, for someone normal anyway. Judging the best route to the gate, Saiko waited until the street below her was clear before dropping into it and darting across, using the dense shadows of the late afternoon to hide her. Replacing her mask, Saiko darted across behind one of the guard's stalls that sat on either side of the gate. Both were occupied, but the guard on the other side had fallen asleep. Saiko was almost disappointed at how easy this was going to be.

Saiko slipped silently through the gap that served as a door, the shinobi guarding the gate was rocking on his chair and humming quietly to himself, but he was clearly alert. Saiko smiled and hit him on the back of the head, just hard enough to knock him out for a half hour or so, before darting across the gateway and doing the same to the other. Sasuke slipped through the gates once she had disabled the second guard. He was wearing a coat now, one that hid his face. Blinking at him, Saiko indicated he should lead seen as she still didn't know who she was looking for. As if he'd read her mind, Sasuke pulled a photo out of one of his pockets and handed it to her. It was a picture of Sasuke and three others who were presumably his team. The white-haired one she had heard of, although she didn't know his name.

"The one on the right. I need to know where he is."

"I'm presuming this photo is a little dated."

"He looks pretty much the same, and subtlety isn't his strong point, he shouldn't be hard to find if he's here."

"And if he's not?"

"Then we find out where he is and when he'll be back."

Saiko nodded and slipped into an alley, glancing back to see Sasuke do the same. They looked everywhere the yellow-haired ninja might be but found nothing so Saiko headed for the Hokage's office. If this ninja was currently on a mission, then the mission request would be there. The windows were locked of course, but you could reach the lock from the outside, and who ever said lockpicking was hard? Within seconds Saiko had slid open the window and slipped inside, closing the window behind her. Quickly scanning the area, Saiko confirmed that there was no one around, then went over to the desk that filled the back half of the room. The top draw seemed to contain current missions, but Saiko was careful not to touch anything. Using a kunai she carefully lifted the pages of each of the files until she found the one she was looking for, which naturally was at the bottom of the pile.

Attached to the file were the profiles of four shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sai and Yamato. So the one they were looking for was this Naruto. Sakura she also recognised from the picture, but the other two she had never seen before. Quickly making note of the details of the mission, Saiko put everything back where it had been and climbed back out the window, then locked it behind her. Scanning the area, she quickly sensed Sasuke's chakra flitting from building to building. Catching up to him, she nodded, before making her way towards the wall, Sasuke following close behind. When they were both a safe distance from the village, Sasuke stopped looked at Saiko expectantly.

"Well?"

"Apparently he's cooperating with a training exercise in the sand village. It says it's an A-rank mission although it didn't say why. There are three others with him, Sakura Haruno, Sai and Yamato. I'm guessing you know who they are."

"Yes, do you know when he'll be back?"  
"It didn't say, but it seemed like he would be in the sand village for a while."

"Then that's where we're going"

Saiko took a step forward, then hesitated. "Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Who is he?"

Sasuke just looked at her for a long time, before answering "I suppose…he's my best friend".

Saiko watched him carefully, but started walking again. It wasn't long before they had reached the others, and Saiko was once more hidden in the trees.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - So I'm trying to put a bit more effort into this story because I wasn't really happy with the first few chapters, although I doubt I'll rewrite them, I'll go more into Saiko's past later but for now I want to work on the actual plot rather than backstory. Reviews are always appreciated and thanks to everyone who reads,

Sera.

CHAPTER 4

At their current pace, the journey to the Sand Village would take around two days, maybe a bit longer. The mission request had made it seem like Naruto would be in the village for a while, but there was something that bugged Saiko. If he was asked to oversee a training exercise, then why was it an A-rank mission, and why would the Sand ask someone from another village? The Sand and the Leaf were allies, that much Saiko was aware of, so maybe this exercise was meant to be for Naruto's benefit as well, but then what made him so special? And it didn't answer the question of the rank. Perhaps she would get a chance to ask Sasuke, but it didn't look like he was going to stop at nightfall, he seemed rather intent on getting there as quickly as possible. Saiko decided that asking Sasuke would likely not hold any answers. Her other option was to go ahead to the village and try to get intel there. Saiko liked to know what she could about her targets, it made her job easier, but more than anything else she was curious about the one that Sasuke wanted dead so badly. His fixation on Naruto was unusual, almost like killing him was Sasuke's purpose, but Saiko couldn't begin to fathom why. Presumably the connection was on a deep personal level, so it was likely Saiko would never know the full story, but since actually talking to him face to face, Saiko felt an unexplainable urge to protect Sasuke.

Saiko slipped into a faster pace, a much faster pace, one that made the branches creak as she landed. In mere seconds the group below her was no longer visible and she turned her concentration to the trees. She was used to travelling at this speed, but it was still easy to misstep and running face first into a tree with such velocity wasn't fun, a lesson she had unfortunately learned the hard way. It was less than an hour before she emerged from the forest into the desert, and being able to move faster over open ground, only another two before the walls of the village came into sight. The leaf village was hard to find if you didn't know where to look, but the Sand village was visible for miles. On the other hand, there was nowhere to hide, so getting in undetected would be much harder than getting into the leaf village.

Saiko ran a wide circle around the village, using her unnaturally keen sight to spot a place where there were no guards, well, none on the outside anyway. She quickly scaled the wall and peered over the top. About 100 metres to her left there was lookout, and another one on her right, significantly further away, but they seemed to be looking out for aerial attacks, not ones from the ground so she slipped past them easily enough. Landing softly on the ground of the village Saiko looked around. She knew less about the Sand village than she did about the leaf, which was going to make this difficult. Sighing, she opted for disguise. Short as she was, she could easily pass for a genin without a transformation jutsu, so rolling up her coat and removing her mask, she quickly summoned a blank headband. She had a stash of them for such occasions, and she found they had gotten her out of a lot of sticky situations in the past.

Carving the sands symbol onto the metal with a kunai, she tied the headband around her arm, obscuring the tattoo that marked her for what she was. It was almost sunset, which meant Saiko didn't have much time to find this Naruto before people started getting suspicious about her questions. Running up to the first person she saw – a blonde haired woman who looked like she must be at least a jonin – Saiko stopped and looked up at her. Saiko asked, in the most innocent voice she could muster (which made her feel vaguely sick), tempering it with excitement "I heard there were leaf ninja here, where are they? Can I see them?" The blond-haired kunoichi looked down at her for a moment before smiling and pointing.

"They're at the training field, but stay out of their way ok?"

"Ok" Saiko grinned, and ran off in the direction the woman had pointed. Wiping the grin off her face Saiko scowled. She wished she never had to do that again, but unfortunately in her line of work, disguise was often easier than out and out stealth.

It wasn't long before Saiko found the training field, a wide expanse of sand that was bare save for a few scattered rocks that wouldn't provide cover for a rodent never mind a person. Saiko assumed her innocent-little-genin look again and approached the leaf ninja observing from the edge of the field, remembering their names from the file, they were Sai, Sakura and Yamato. Naruto was in the actual training area, listening intently to something a Sand ninja was saying. There were a few other sand ninja milling about, waiting patiently for them to finish. So when they said 'oversee' they presumably meant that Naruto should participate as well. But why was this an A-rank mission? The one called Sakura looked up as Saiko approached, the other two just glanced in her direction. Saiko smiled sweetly at her. "Hi! I'm Kana, nice to meet you."

Sakura stood and held out her hand. "I'm Sakura. What brings you here?"

Saiko took her hand and shook. "I heard there were leaf shinobi in the village, I wanted to come see."

Sakura laughed, why she thought that was funny Saiko had no idea. "Our teammate, Naruto, is doing some wind style training, you're welcome to watch. This is Sai, and Yamato, our captain." Saiko smiled and sat down next to Sakura. This girl bugged her, she was feigning happiness and seemed to think she was hiding her real emotions, but it wasn't working in the slightest.

Saiko looked down at Naruto, he had backed away from the sand shinobi and was readying his stance. So they were going to spar? This was something she wanted to see. It was moments like this that Saiko was glad for her ocular powers, despite how exhausting they might be. Her eyes let her see auras. In layman's terms that meant she could see a person's life force, and by extension, their chakra. Turning her head slightly so Sakura wouldn't see her eyes darken with the power, she watched Naruto closely as his aura came into focus. Saiko's eyes widened slightly. What is that? Naruto's aura was a pale blue, indicative of his wind natured chakra and ultimately his personality, but there was a second aura underneath his. This one was red, and filled with hatred, it was reminiscent of Sasuke's in fact, but the emotion was purer, like anything other emotion had been lost. Saiko had never seen an aura like it before, but there was one creature she could think of that would fit the picture so to speak, and that would be a tailed beast. So this child was a jinchuuriki, perhaps this was what made him so special? He clearly had power of his own, but still the power of the beast within him was greater. Saiko glanced sideways at Naruto's teammates. They were all fairly ordinary, although there was something about Yamato's chakra that wasn't quite right, and Sai's seemed to lack personality. Sakura was clearly a medical ninja but her personality was hard to read, split personalities maybe? Saiko shook her head slightly, why would Sasuke care about these people?, even if Naruto was a jinchuuriki.

Saiko suddenly remembered the other thing she had come here to find out. Releasing her power so her vision returned to normal she looked over at Sakura. "Why are you here now? I mean, surely you could've come anytime?"

Sakura looked at her and blinked. "Oh, it's because of the threats against the village. Gaara, I mean, the Kazekage asked us to help the investigation teams because they're so short-handed, the Hokage sent us to 'oversee a training exercise' as an excuse, but there are a lot more wind-style users in the sand than there are in the leaf so Naruto wanted to do some training now that we're on break." Yamato looked at Sakura and she seemed to get the message, she was running her mouth, if anyone was eavesdropping they'd know exactly why the leaf-nin were here. Saiko almost laughed, the irony was killing her. But instead she smiled at Sakura and just trailed off with an 'oh I see' before returning her attention to Naruto.

The spar was anything but impressive, but given the nature of the training I suppose that was to be expected, now she just needed an excuse to get out of here. So Saiko turned and pretended to see someone she knew, calling out and leaping up before racing after some random person who was about to turn a corner. As soon as she was out of view, Saiko turned and ran towards the wall. When she reached the edge of the village she looked around to see if anyone was watching before leaping up the wall, her chakra the only thing holding her feet to the wall. She was about halfway up when she sensed someone below her. Pressing against the wall and hiding all traces of her presence, she prayed that they wouldn't look up. Unfortunately, a messenger hawk flew over the wall just at that moment letting out a screech. Saiko watched, tensing, as the man looked up at the hawk. He looked down again and Saiko almost relaxed, but then the man stopped and looked up again, noticing her clinging to the wall. Mentally face-palming that she had been so careless, Saiko feigned falling off the wall, grabbing the edge of the closest building to slow her descent before landing heavily on the ground near the man.

Laughing in pretend embarrassment Saiko picked herself up and walked over to the man. "Sorry, I wanted to see how high I could get, I'm practicing wall-walking see, and the bird startled me, I sort of lost my balance."

Thankful that she had yet to remove her disguise, Saiko watched, hoping that the man would believe her story. He seemed suspicious, but after watching her for a moment, he just clapped her on the shoulder and told her to be more careful, and to maybe tell the lookouts what she was doing so they didn't get alarmed. "Oh I already did. They just said to stay in the one place." Lying through her teeth wasn't exactly a talent of hers, but she was obviously good enough because the man continued walking. Once he had turned the corner, Saiko looked around again, scanning the area with all her sense this time. Not seeing or hearing anyone in the near vicinity, she ran up the wall again, pulling on her hooded coat and replacing her mask. Saiko scowled again at having to play the clueless genin. Removing the headband from her arm, she reached the top of the wall and jumped down the other side.

Landing heavily at the bottom of the wall, the disturbed sand thrown up around her, she quickly made her way back to the group.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Ok so hopefully this chapter is a bit more interesting. Thanks to all who read this, and reviews are always appreciated.

CHAPTER 5

It seemed that whatever was going on in the sand village had already begun. The fact that the man at the wall had believed her so easily meant he wasn't familiar with the village or its current state of alert, and that in turn meant he was part of the threat that Sakura had been talking about. Saiko paused at the edge of the desert, taking refuge from the heat in a not-so-healthy pine on the edge of the tree-line. It was a few moments before she heard the footsteps of Sasuke's group approaching. They had slowed their pace significantly since she left them, although the reason was irrelevant. In her mind she was turning over all these new facts and piecing them together. The threat to the sand village was a covert one so it shouldn't have any direct effect on Sasuke's plans, as to the nature of those plans, Saiko didn't really care. The reason for them however, intrigued her. Sasuke had said that Naruto was his best friend, that probably meant he was a former teammate, but Naruto was also a jinchuuriki.

Saiko watched closely as Sasuke passed the edge of the forest and kept going, picking up the pace as they left the cover and relative safety the trees provided. She narrowed her eyes at him, deigning to use her powers just once more today. As her eyes darkened to blood-red, Sasuke's chakra revealed itself, its true nature. His chakra was red, like that of the nine-tails, but not nearly so pure in its emotion, tainting the colour with uncertainty. Sasuke may have been consumed by hatred, but he wasn't free of his other feelings. An emotion somewhat akin to guilt – regret maybe – permeated his being, along with an intense loneliness. Saiko could relate, she'd felt the same way once, but long ago she had resigned herself to her bloodlust, simply killing those that annoyed her rather than trying to be diplomatic as she might have in the past. But then, that was why she was being hunted in the first place. The wrong person had pissed her off and she had killed him, slowly, and painfully. The man himself had been weak, but he had many supporters, and those that knew the nature of his death now hunted her with such ferocity that even allied nations had become involved.

Saiko sighed, it had been a long time since she had pleasure of killing someone worth killing, and it had dulled the satisfaction it gave her. Naruto was strong, but she wouldn't steal Sasuke's kill, he deserved it more than she did, but then again, maybe he didn't. Despite his apparent strength, Sasuke was fragile – emotionally anyway – there was no telling what effect the death of his former teammate would have, never mind if he was the one to ensure it. Saiko blinked in vague confusion. When did she become so attached to Sasuke? She'd know him all of a few days, yet for some reason she felt he needed protecting, and felt compelled to be the one to do it. Closing her eyes, she didn't realise how long she had been standing there until she released the power and noticed how far ahead Sasuke had gotten. Staying a good distance behind, she followed them, matching their pace until the sand village rose like a black smudge on the horizon…again.

Sasuke made a similar move to what Saiko had done the first time, making a wide arc around the wall to come to a spot where there were fewer lookouts. Saiko had stopped in the shadow of the wall, close enough to comfortably hear what Sasuke was saying to the others, but remaining undetected. She hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation until she heard her name. Sasuke was staring at the gap between Karin and Juugo, clearly waiting. As her mind caught up and Saiko realised what he had said and that he was waiting for her, she hopped up, pushed off the wall and landed silently behind him. Karin just about leapt out of her skin in surprise, probably due to the fact that as a sensory ninja she was confused that she could only see Saiko and not sense her. Juugo looked worried but was hiding it well. Suigetsu glared pointedly and looked like he was about to say something stupid and boastful before he was silenced by a glare from Sasuke. Saiko took a step forward to stand beside him and glanced over, face hidden both by her hood and her mask.

"Yes Sasuke?"

"You're going to help us."

Saiko raised an eyebrow, her reply smooth like blood-stained velvet. "I may have agreed to help you, but don't presume to order me around, it would not be wise." Karin huffed in indignation at the remark but Sasuke continued without pause.

"The village is on alert, can you get us in quietly?"

"Hmph, wouldn't it be easier just to go in the front?"

"That sort of defeats the purpose of quietly doesn't it?"

"Yes but it means I get to kill more people."

"No."

It was said with a finality that Saiko found amusing. She smirked, the expression revealed only in the glint of her eyes from the shadows of her mask. She nodded almost imperceptibly and dashed up the wall so fast that only a blur of black cloth and shadow were visible. Perching on top of the wall Saiko scanned the area. She could get in easily, but Sasuke excepted, the group below her was relatively novice when it came to stealth. Karin might make it, her sensory abilities giving her an edge, but the other two had no hope. Below her, Suigetsu was pacing in impatience. Sighing, Saiko leapt off the wall, landing heavily where Suigetsu had been not a moment before, satisfied at his startled reaction.

"Well"

"You certainly, and maybe the girl, but the other two have no hope, they're too conspicuous."

"Then they can stay here." He silenced Suigetsu's indignant response with another glare and turned to Saiko. "Do you know where he is."

"I can find him easily enough."

"Then you keep the sand ninja busy, I don't want any interference. Karin, you're lookout. Juugo, Suigetsu, wait here, and stay out of sight." With that, Sasuke turned and ran up the wall himself. Saiko sighed again - at least she would have the opportunity to kill something – and followed Sasuke, Karin close behind glaring at her all the while. When they reached the top of the wall, they had to duck behind it quickly as the lookout threw his gaze over the area. When the coast was clear they made their way down the other side and into the nearest alley.

Saiko closed her eyes and extended her senses, focusing on finding Naruto's chakra signature. She was dimly aware of the conversation occurring behind her.

"Just _who_ is she Sasuke?" Saiko winced when Karin whined; the high-pitched noise was piercing and made it difficult to concentrate. Normally a village this size wouldn't be a problem, but after using her powers twice in one day, her vision – and not just her literal vision – was blurring. Still, it only took her a few moments to locate Naruto's chakra, though she missed Sasuke's reply because of it.

Karin was only whining louder - although maybe it seemed louder than it was – so Saiko just ignored her and headed in Naruto's direction. Despite it being almost midnight, Naruto was still in the training field, although it was only him and Sakura now. He seemed to be practicing sage jutsu. Admittedly that came as a surprise to Saiko, Naruto must have had an excellent teacher to learn such a technique at his age, but then, he did have more chakra than he had any right to. If Naruto had any real control over his chakra he might even pose a minor threat to Saiko herself, and that thought was a little unnerving, although mostly infuriating. Karin had ceased her pathetic whining but was sulking, trailing behind Sasuke and glaring at the back of Saiko's head. Saiko honestly felt like punching her, even if she couldn't kill her, she wanted to at least maim her. At this point unfortunately that would be nothing but a hindrance.

Saiko slowed as they approached the field. Late as it was there was no one on the streets, and they only had to keep an eye on the lookouts that were patrolling from the rooftops. Only once had someone crossed their path and they didn't notice anything as the group slipped past. When Saiko stopped, Sasuke turned to Karin and told her to wait and keep an eye out for anyone who might raise the alarm. Since Naruto and Sakura were the only ones here, Saiko wasn't going to get much of a fight. Sakura was a medical ninja, and while she seemed to possess a formidable physical strength, it was nothing compared to Saiko's.

As Sasuke climbed the roof and prepared to leap into the clearing, Saiko followed, seeming insubstantial as a ghost. Finally Sasuke made his move, leaping off the roof and landing in front of Naruto just after he released another jutsu. Naruto and Sakura froze in shock. Sakura blinked and started to take a step forward, but before she could move, Saiko was in front of her, blocking her way. Naruto glanced in their direction before returning his gaze to Sasuke, eyes hardening as he took in the situation.

"I thought I'd never find you, but you found me."

"No more messing around Naruto, this ends here and now."

"Why? How can you be so consumed by hatred that you'd want to kill your best friend?"

Saiko watched out of the corner of her eye as Sasuke laughed. It was a terrible kind of laughter, the kind that told of a broken heart and a shattered soul filled with malice. Sasuke's eyes hardened into Sharingan, glinting in the moonlight before the silver orb disappeared behind a wisp of cloud.

"How can you be so naïve Naruto? You're in my way, and I want you dead. It's as simple as that."

"That's a lie and you know it!"

"Is it Naruto? Then maybe you would like to enlighten me as to the truth of my actions."

"I don't know why you're doing this and that's why I want you to stop. Revenge doesn't solve anything."

"Revenge? Is that what you think this is about. No Naruto, this has nothing to do with revenge. But enough talk, let's end this."

Sasuke disappeared, or it looked like he did. Even with her vision in a less than perfect state, Saiko could follow Sasuke's movement, albeit with difficulty. But she turned her attention to Sakura when the pink-haired girl made a move towards Naruto. Saiko blocked her path and hissed at her.

"Go on, try something, I'm just itching to kill something."

Sakura took a step back, her eyes widening slightly, then hardening again in her resolve.

"Don't get in my way. I don't know who you are but Naruto's my friend and I'm going to protect him."

"Protect Naruto? It seems to me you care more about what happens to Sasuke."

Sakura stared at Saiko and did something very foolish. She tried to push past her. Sakura was strong, granted, but she wasn't very fast, and in less than a second Saiko had knocked her to the ground. A sharp cry of "Sakura" was heard somewhere off to Saiko's left, but she didn't care about them anymore, she was going to enjoy this.

Sakura stood and gazed warily at Saiko, glancing every now and again at the fight between Naruto and Sasuke. So far it wasn't very heated, they were exchanging blows but they weren't yet serious. Saiko understood that but it wasn't how she played the game. If Sakura wanted to survive longer than a minute she was going to have to get serious, fast. Sakura made another move towards Naruto and this time Saiko grabbed her by the collar and hurled her towards a building on the other side of the clearing. The impact cracked the wall, bringing it down and part of the roof with it. Before Sakura even had a chance to stand, Saiko was in front of her again, a kunai held loosely in her grip. "You have three seconds, if you don't move, you'll die." Sakura glared at her, but swiftly disappeared, taking to higher ground. Saiko counted slowly to three, and turned just in time to catch Sakura's fist as it flew toward her face. "You'll have to do better than that."

Saiko smirked, but admitted to perhaps having underestimated this girl – at least a little – as the bones in her hand protested to the amount of force they had just absorbed. Sakura's eyes widened as she leapt backward. She proceeded to leap into the air again, this time aiming her fist at the ground, and Saiko jumped back as the earth beneath her fractured and split. She was unconcerned though, Saiko was stronger and faster than Sakura, and had a lot more experience, there was no way she could lose. That's not to say Saiko was overestimating her own abilities, she could easily defeat even the nine-tails with barely a second glance, but her strength made things rather boring. That's why she fought the way she did. She played with her victims not out of arrogance, just out of boredom, and so far, this wasn't turning out to be a very interesting fight.

Sakura let loose a heavy barrage of attacks, not necessarily aiming them at anything vital, just trying to get a hit in in order to slow Saiko down. It was an interesting and probably smart tactic, but ultimately it was futile. Saiko dodged every attack Sakura threw, barely moving an inch. If there was one thing that was frustrating, it was missing despite trying your hardest to land a hit, and Saiko could see it working on Sakura. She was growing more distressed and sloppier as she grew more desperate in her attempts. Deciding she'd had enough, Saiko retaliated, after dodging another almost aimless swing, she threw one of her own, her fist connecting with Sakura's ribcage. Saiko smirked in satisfaction at the sensation of bones crushing beneath the blow. Dropping Sakura she waited. Sakura coughed, bringing up blood, but slowly stood, wincing in pain. The blow hadn't been fatal, that wasn't the intention, but it had punctured a lung, making it difficult for Sakura to breath. Saiko almost laughed, a single blow and already this pathetic excuse for a ninja was as good as dead.

Sakura backed away slowly, watching Saiko as she coated her right hand in greenish chakra and brought it up to her mangled ribs. Saiko waited patiently as Sakura healed her injury as best she could, not taking her eyes off her opponent. The moment Sakura's hand dropped Saiko started forward, throwing another fist at the kunoichi. The second blow connected with her stomach, throwing Sakura backwards and knocking the wind out of her. Saiko heard her wrist crack as well when she hit the wall of a nearby building. Sakura was bleeding heavily now, both from where her ribs had cut through the flesh and in her lungs, causing her to cough up copious amounts of blood. If there was one thing Saiko could commend this girl for, it was staying conscious. It wasn't like Saiko had exactly been trying, but she hadn't been holding her punches either. The fact that the girl was still conscious when she was clearly in a lot of pain was admirable, but it meant that Saiko could make her suffer that much longer, something that she imagined Sakura would not be grateful for later.

Out of the corner of her eye, Saiko noticed Karin signalling madly at her. It seemed the commotion had finally attracted the attention of the sand shinobi. Saiko laughed. "So sorry dear Sakura but it seems playtime is over. I'll deal with you later." Leaving Sakura tosuffer, Saiko turned her attention to the sand shinobi. They were mostly Jonin, with a few Chuunin filling out the ranks, and heading the group was the Kazekage himself. Saiko laughed again and moved between the sand ninjas and the fight between Naruto and Sasuke, ever growing in intensity. Saiko felt a spike in the red chakra of the nine-tails but paid it no heed. That fight belonged to Sasuke, meanwhile, she was going to enjoy hers.


End file.
